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by HazelEyesDontTellLies
Summary: How did Fang feel about Max's date with Sam? Angry? Jealous? Guilty? Like he was dying? Lost Maximum Ride: Schools Out - Forever! Fang's Point of View. \


**Summary: How did Fang feel about Max's date with Sam? Angry? Jealous? Guilty? Like he was dying? Lost chapter of MR: SOF! Maybe one-shot! FPOV**

**AN: This will most likely be a one-shot, but if I get more review then I think I'll write more. But you'll have to help me out with ideas a lot…**

**My own lost chapter of ****Maximum Ride: Schools Our - Forever**** from Fang's perspective! ****_Whoop whoop!_**

**Sorry if I'm a little rusty!**

**XOX**

**Normal**

FANG.

"_Maximum."_ Anne said in an rare steely voice. The whole Flock was watching our unnusually quiet Max now, waiting. Not that she noticed. Her head was bent down, staring at her untouched food with disinterest, and her shoulders were slumped back into her chair.

She disappeared into her own head sometimes. More often then she used to - she was probably stressing about her mission or having a chat-to-chat with the good ol' Voice. What else was new?

"Max."

I kicked her under the table when she didn't answer Anne for the fourth time, and her eyes shot up to me, looking surprised. I gave her a look. _You okay?_

She did nothing to reassure me, not a nod or even a forced smile. Did the Voice have new information? Was that why she was acting so weird? Because she didn't want to tell the kids we'd have to leave? Every second I thought of a new question, but I didn't voice any of them.

Instead, I motioned for Max to look at Anne, who was trying not to blow a circuit.

While Angel – who was already picking through Max's thoughts, no doubt - could actually do something about her curiosity, the other kids had to wait. They were all on the edges of their seats. Except Iggy, who was slumped back, bored and waiting to be dismissed from dinner.

"Hmm?" Max hummed, distractedly.

"I _said,_ "Anne repeated through clenched teeth, struggling to keep her calm demeanor. "How was your day?"

"Oh." Max paused, and then she did something no one expected. She _blushed._ Trying to cover her embarrassment, in a high clipped tone, Max answered, "It was fine."

"Just fine?" Anne echoed. She'd seen Max's pink face. We all had. And there was no way the flock or Anne was letting Max go until we knew why. I wanted to know too.

What could she be embarrassed about? Petty high school drama? It seemed unlikely. Not only that, but Lissa – who knew everything about everybody, as she'd told me proudly – hadn't mentioned Max once. Which she would have if my supposed sister had gotten into some sort of trouble.

"Uh huh. Everything was fine."

"Hey, Max?" A little voice said.

Max looked at Angel. "What, sweetie?"

"Who's Sam?"

_"What?"_ Max croaked, her face turning red again.

I raised an eyebrow. Who _was _Sam? That was a good question. I'd never heard Max even mention her. While Max had mentioned her new found friend JJ half a dozen times. And what was so embarrassing about being friends with this Sam chick? What, did she have a tail? It's not like Max was one to talk…

Ha. Mutant humor. Ha…

_Anyways, _you could tell by how Max clenched her steak knife – _who gave Max a knife?_ – That she was getting angry. Like, thanks Angel. Really. Now we all had to suffer.

Angel started to backtrack. "Sorry, Max, it's just…you kept thinking about a boy named Sam and…"

_A boy?_ Sam was a _guy?_ I stopped chewing, staring hard at Max. I didn't know Max was friends with any boys. And _why _was she all quiet at the dinner table and getting all _blushy_ and _red_ when someone even mentioned this _guy?_

_Why do you care? _An annoying voice in my own head quipped.

_I'm Fang_, I shot back_. And she's Max._ And that should have been reason enough.

We look out for each other, always. We always had each other's backs. She protects me. I protect her. I'm like…like a brother to her. Yes. A brother.

"You shouldn't go through my head like that, Angel! I've told you a million times. God." Max snapped, testily.

Okay, can someone please get that knife away from her, before she decides to chop us all up?

Nudge was frowning. "A boy? Max, are you okay? Did…did he hurt you?"

Max was mortified. I could tell, even if no one else could. I was watching her, frowning. If some boy – or anyone - had tried to touch Max in a way she didn't like, he wouldn't walk away without a scratch. Heck, he probably wouldn't be able to walk at all. She didn't need my help to take care of a perverted boy who thought he had a chance with Max.

But still. We look out for each other.

"_No! _ No he – no one hurt me. Okay? Just drop it. Everything's fine."

"Ya sure, Max?" Gazzy asked, through a mouth full of mashed potatoes. "'Cause me an' Ig will blast this kid if ya want."

I wasn't sure why Max didn't snap at him to stop being a sexist pig. Why she wasn't telling him that she could take care of herself, but she wasn't.

Instead, she sighed. _"Ugh." _Then braced herself like she was about to be attacked by Erasers. "I'm _fine._ School was _fine_. I just…I got asked on a date."

She what?

"You _what?"_ Iggy burst out.

"I got asked on a date," Max huffed testily, reaching for a second helping of mashed potatoes.

Nudge squealed, all previous concern shot out the window. "Oh, Max!"

"You're kidding!" Gazzy said, spitting food. "What a loser! What'd he say when you shot him down?"

Right. Duh. There was no reason to get so worked up about this. The Gasman was right – never thought I'd say that – but he was so obviously right. Max had said no. She had to have said no. I was still looking at Max, waiting for her to look up at me and confirm this.

But she didn't.

"You said yes, didn't you?" One of the girls asked. Probably Nudge. I wasn't sure – and didn't bother to look. Because I wasn't looking anywhere else until Max looked up at me.

"Oh, my God," Iggy smacked his forehead, "Max on a _date. _I thought we were trying to _avoid_ tears and violence and mayhem."

Oh, sure, Max looks (read: glares) at Iggy. But she can't even glance at me.

I clenched my jaw. What was wrong with me? I should be happy. Like Angel and Nudge. Or at least, teasing like Iggy and the Gasman. My best friend, _my sister_, was going to go out on a date. This was supposed to be a good thing. But instead I felt like Ari or Jeb had been shot out of hell to take Max away.

Which was ridiculous. Because all Max and this...Sam could do was go out, for pizza or something, hug goodbye and Max would be back. Then, worst case scenario, they'd do it again. And eventually Max would stop freaking about Lissa. Then she could relax and maybe actually have some fun for once.

Not that Max should ever be having fun with anyone. Especially some boy. Oh, God, why am I even _thinking _this stuff?

"I think it's great. Max is beautiful," _Right, Fang? _Angel thought in my head and I froze. "She _should_ go on dates."

"What are you going to wear?" Anne asked, smiling and Max answered she didn't know.

Anne was obviously pleased Max was finally getting into the swing of things. Learning how to have a normal life, that is, and everything that came with it; going to school, making friends, yelling at younger siblings for invading your privacy, worrying about what to wear. And going on dates.

Just a bunch of normal angst ridden teenagers.

Emphasis on the _angst._

_**XOX**_

Fang liked to think he wasn't a very curious person. Because, unless it directly affected him or the flock, Fang didn't really care. It wasn't any of his business, and it probably wasn't worth the effort of prying to find out.

Except, he realized, as he watched Max hurriedly get ready, he couldn't help but wonder _why._

_Why does Max care?_

Why had she been getting ready for, like, _two hours_? Why had she taken such a long shower, followed by repeatedly running up and down the stairs and searching the laundry room for something clean to wear? She'd even gone the extra mile as to swipe some of Anne's perfume and – _ jeez_, was she wearing _lip gloss? _Good god.

_Why? _Why was she acting so weird and girlish and so un-Max-like?

She'd never acted this way before. _Ever._ She'd sometimes go a week without showering, and sometimes wore the same shirt in a row. She'd belch like a trucker, and almost never combed her hair. The flock saw Max at her absolute worst and didn't bat an eye; she just accepted it.

Eyeing the now smooth hair curtaining her face, Fang frowned. She was trying to impress Sam. Obviously. Because she was worried Sam wouldn't like what he saw as she was? That Sam wouldn't see what Fang saw? Like he was too good for their Max?

Because…because she maybe actually_ liked_ him? Because she wanted him to think she was pretty and perfect and amazing all the time? Was it possible that _Max_ wanted that from someone? Someone she could be vulnerable with…

Fang suddenly hated him.

_Why does she even need Sam? She has the flock. She has us to think she's perfect and amazing and…maybe… kind of pretty. And, on those rare occasions when she needed a shoulder to cry on, she's always come to me. So why does she need _him?

If Fang didn't know any better, he'd think Max was doing this on purpose – making him feel sick and scared and murderous all at once- to get back at him for Lissa. But she wouldn't stoop that low. No way.

And the fuckin' cherry on top of it all was that Fang actually felt _guilty_ – guilty of hating Sam when he didn't know him, guilty for acting this way. Max worked so hard, he knew that. She just wanted a night off, a night to be normal.

Seeing how nervous and panicky she looked right then only made him feel worse.

"Just think of it as a recon mission, " He advised. Sam would be here any minute – Nudge gave them a time check every few minutes. She was more excited than Max was. Who, by the way, was staring at her own reflection, pulling on her favorite hoodie and defrizzling her hair. Again.

Sounding constricted Max said. "What? I'm fine."

Sure she was. "Uh-huh. Usually when you look like that, I know you're about to hurl."

"I'm _fine_." It looked like she doubted it.

Then the doorbell rang and she went white. Seeing her panicked expression, Fang grinned at her before heading down stairs.

So let's see him.

Fang was mildly surprised Angel, Nudge, and the Gasman weren't camped out in front of the door. But the foyer was deserted when he opened the door.

Fang realized he'd jumped the gun. He'd expected some tool, who wore sunglasses at night and who looked like their diet was steroids. Not that Max would ever consider seeing someone like that. But still, it would have been nice to have an actual reason of not liking him other than this unrational resentment he felt.

But the kid in front of Fang was skinny, but about Max's height. Brown hair with green-ish eyes and wearing a blue hoody. Pretty ordinary. He looked calm, a little nervous, but nice. The kind of boy you would want your sister-figure to go on a first date with.

"You Sam?" Fang asked.

The kid looked startled. "Uh – yes. Is Max here?"

"She'll be down in a second. I'm her brother."

"Nick, right?"

"Right."

This was probably the time where, in the movies, the brother or the dad or the over protective best friend would say something like, _Have her home by seven _or _You hurt her, and I hurt you._

But Fang said neither. He just watched silently as Max smiled at Sam from the top of the stair case, hurried out the door with him, and left without a single look back.

**XOX**

After Max left, Fang called Lissa back. She'd left called twice and left a voicemail, so it was the least he could do.

She answered on the second ring, "Hello?"

"It's Nick. You called?"

"Uh-huh. I was just wondering if I could borrow the English notes from today?"

There hadn't been many notes to start with. Some guy named Matt had gotten Mr. Everett distracted for half the class. "Yeah sure."

"Kay, thanks. And was there homework?"

"Page twenty-one in the book."

"Thanks again. I wasn't sure because I wasn't there today, obviously, because I had to go to a dentist's appointment and – "

Fang wasn't sure why she was telling him all this. But he just listened. He could listen to her voice for a minute or two before getting bored.

"- and…and I've been rambling. Sorry!" Lissa mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

Fang blinked. "Don't worry 'bout it. Is that all?"

"Um…yeah. I guess so." She didn't sound very sure.

Fang didn't really feel like hanging up, it would just mean having nothing to do while he waited for Max to get back. But there was nothing left to say, and no reason to stay.

"Bye, Lissa."

"Goodnight, Nick."

**XOX**

It was dark when the oldest flock member decided to come home. Fang's room was right above the porch, so when headlights lit up Anne's drive he knew Max was back.

Fang took grim satisfaction knowing that at least he wouldn't have to be driven around by his mom like this kid. He had his own ride. Or wings.

Max and that tool stepped out of the car, and he walked her to the door. What a gentlemen.

Whatever.

Max and him were talking. But even with his raptor hearing, Fang couldn't make out what was being said. But that didn't matter, because Sam said something that made Max smile and then he leaned in, placing his left hand on her shoulder and his right under her chin. And he kissed her and she kissed back and the hand that was on her shoulder went to her waist _and_ -

For a blind moment Fang thought _he_ was gonna be the one that hurled. But then the car in the driveway honked, and the two _love birds – _scratch that, a love bird and a kid who is in way over his head_ - _looked at each other, embarrassed.

And they hugged. And he left.

And Fang waited until he heard Max's soft footsteps trudge up the stairs and her bed room door closed. Then he tried to count to twenty, but found himself outside her door by eleven.

Fang stuck his head through her door hesitantly. Then put his hands to his eyes in mock blindness. "Whoa. Your happy glow. It's blinding."

Max's eyes rolled but she didn't protest when he came in.

"They wanted to stay up and wait for you, but Anne made them go to bed."

"Good thinking on Anne's part." Max kicked off her shoes.

Fang found himself loosening his jaw with difficulty. He had to ask. "I saw him – what's the phrase? oh yeah – 'stuck to you like glue.' So I guess you got along all right."

Max looked at me without really looking at him. "Yeah. There's a lot of that going around."

Fang was so grateful of his tan skin right then. She couldn't see his cheeks turn colors. Was that – that terrifying, dying feeling what Max has felt when she'd seen him kiss Lissa? He hoped not.

Max changed subjects quickly. "Yeah. He was really nice. We had a good time."

"But...?" Fang asked. There had to be a but somewhere.

"But so what? He could be the nicest guy in the world, but it doesn't change anything. I'm still a mutant freak. We're will in a situation I hate more every day. We can't trust anyone. We can't solve the code mystery. We can't find out parents – not that it would help if we did."

Fang paused, guiltily. _Oh, Max_. She'd just been on her first date – a _mostly_ innocent and carefree normal date, and Fang had already ruined it for her by bringing her back into this life. A life where she lived on the run as a mutant with her mutant family, where crazy scientists wanted to kill or torture her and said family; in a world she hated – where she was anything but normal.

In a world as Max.

**XOX**

**AN: Okay I know that was a very vague ending and I'm sorry but I just wanted to apologize for that! Along with Fang for having so many emotions – it wasn't supposed to be like that, it was actually supposed to be funny! I'm sorry! **

**Can I also apologize for my interpretation of Fang? I see Fang as someone who doesn't say much but thinks a lot. I thought people over analyze Fang's brief fling with Lissa and I wanted to tone done their relationship a little by showing Fang's perspective. I also believed that throughout the books Fang didn't have any idea what was going on with him and his feelings for Max and he was trying to figure it out just as much as Max was. Just a little sooner, that's all.**

**Again, this is mostly likely going to remain a one-shot unless I get plenty of requests for otherwise.**


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